Nikola Tesla  Child of the Storm
by MycroftsAngelEyes
Summary: A series of one-shots focusing on the history of Nikola Tesla... as told by me and working with the Sanctuary!Verse version of events... 2: 1861
1. Child of the Storm

_**A/N: Okay. I have so much work and such as of late (darn exams!) but this just wouldn't leave me alone... that'll teach me for googling the history of Nikola Tesla :p**_

_**As I'm sure everyone's realised, the Sanctuary!Verse has changed some of the history of Tesla, which is an awful problem for all us fans who have to try and work around it all as a result... oh well, it's a challenge! ;)**_

_**Technically it's been a while since I've wrote anything (once again; darn exams) and so I thought I'd kick-start off my latest descent in to literary chaos with a short series about Tesla's history. Each one will be a stand-alone one-shot but they will all inter-relate (it is his history afterall) but you won't have to read them all in order to understand it all :)**_

_**I'll also throw up a bullet-pointed version of his history once I sort out all this chaos and such just in case anyone else wants to do the same :)**_

_**Anyway, I'll stop blathering now and I hope you enjoy this first, of many, one-shots about Nikola Tesla. **_

_**Kasey**_

**Child of the Storm:**

Đuka hadn't been expecting _this_. Why would she have been? She had been prepared for a _long_ birth. She had been prepared for a _hard_ birth. She had been prepared for a _painful_ birth. She had been prepared for a bloody, potentially _life-threatening_, birth. But she was _not_ ready for this. How could she have been?

It was throwing buckets outside; the rain was so fierce that, even whilst she was otherwise engaged, a part of her was worried for her other children upstairs in the only room with a glass window - would the glass survive such angry pounding? She hoped to God that it would.

"Just a _few_ more pushes Đuka, and this will be all over, I promise." The mid-wife said soothingly as she knelt between Đuka's legs and waited for Đuka to start pushing again; the babe was being difficult, that she could clearly see and in all of her twenty-years of midwifery, Jasna had _never_ had to deliver a babe at such an hour. It worried her, and she felt like she was helping something dark enter the world; but that could never be so for the babe of a priest; a man of the cloth, a good, God-fearing man. No. But the situation that the birth was taking place in didn't help her dissolve her worry.

"I truly hope so Jasna... why must he be so _stubborn_?" Đuka groaned as she gripped the sheet beneath her so tightly her knuckles turned white from the effort. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Đuka missed the surprised look Jasna shot at her; a mother shouldn't know the sex of her babe until after the birth. Should she? "I'm going to try again, I feel like now is the right time." Đuka warned Jasna as she opened her eyes again and Jasna nodded in agreement.

"It would be for the best if this babe was born soon Đuka, my girl. We don't want him to be stillborn." Jasna said, her voice soft, but stern as she knew that the potential for her babe to die would motivate Đuka when all else failed. Jasna watched silently as she saw the _exact_ moment Đuka resolved herself to deliver this babe regardless of anything; the world could be burning and Đuka would still deliver her babe. Jasna just hoped such resolve was enough for this babe to be born soon.

"Remember to breathe Đuka." Jasna advised as she positioned herself directly in front of Đuka and placed her hands on the young woman's knees to help support her. "On three I want you to push. One... Two... _Three! Push!_"

Đuka pushed, she pushed with all her might. She clenched the sheets tight enough to ripe them. She ground her teeth together so hard that it felt like she was pushing her teeth through her gums. And then she screamed as she pushed with one last, determined push as the world around them flashed and rumbled spectacularly.

And when the flashing and the rumbling was over, the sound Đuka had been waiting for nine months to hear echoed around the small bedroom.

The sound of a babe's wails...

Jasna made quiet 'shushing' sounds as she quickly wrapped the babe in the warm blanket beside her, a smile on her face as she stared at the beautiful babe held in her arms. She looked up to Đuka and said proudly. "You have a strong, _loud_ baby boy Đuka."

Đuka smiled widely, a mixture of relief and exhilaration as she reached out for her child and Jasna dutifully passed the young child to her without a word. "Hello my dear boy..." Đuka whispered, tears of joy and pain in her eyes as she stroked the soft, pale flesh of her son's cheek. She watched with love in her heart as her son's eyes opened, albeit briefly, and she caught sight of silver-grey eyes; a rare thing indeed.

"He'll be a child of the storm Đuka." Jasna said wisely as she stood up and began to collect the bloodied sheets.

"No." Đuka said quietly causing Jasna to look up at her questioningly. "Of light." Jasna's brow furrowed as Đuka continued speaking. "My Nikola will be a child of light... I _know_ he will."

**END**

_**Just so you know, Nikola Tesla was born on 10**__**th**__** July at the "stroke of midnight" with lightning striking in the midst of a summer storm. (Kind of fitting really, hmm... :p)**_

_**His midwife **_**actually**_** said "He'll be a child of the storm" which his mother replied to with: "No, of light."**_

_**Kinda cool huh? :p**_

_**The next one-shot might be up later on tonight, tomorrow or ten-years from now. I don't know... Sorry. :/**_


	2. 1861

_**A/N: Right! Now it's time for the second instalment of the one-shots around Nikola's history... **_

_**I'll give some quick warnings now; this does include character death (not Nikola I promise) and a bit of emotional grief etc**_

_**Besides, that I hope you enjoy reading this and just so you know... this is all true (historically speaking) however I am obviously taking a liberty with this description of events... creative license rules on occasions like these :p**_

_**Kasey**_

**1861:**

It wasn't his fault... was it? He didn't mean for it to happen... why would he? He wasn't a monster. He wasn't evil. He wasn't a Devil child. He was good boy. He was a good, _good_ boy... so why did he feel _so_ guilty? Why did he feel like it was his fault?

He had never meant for it to happen...

Nikola sat huddled in his small room; it used to be shared between him and Dane... not anymore though. Now it was just Nikola's room. He had managed to nestle himself in the corner beneath the only window in the room, his head buried into his knees which he'd drawn up to his chest and wrapped his thin arms around. His shoulders shook as he sobbed silently. He had never meant for it to happen... he'd just wanted to show Dane what he could do... wanted to show him that he could help his brother too.

Only he couldn't.

He'd killed him instead.

**-****ŊŦ-**

**Twelve hours earlier:**

"Dane!" Nikola exclaimed as he hurried out of the small house his family lived in, pulling on his worn coat as he did so. He watched as Dane pulled the horse to a gentle halt and twisted in the saddle to look at his younger brother. At twelve years of age, Dane Tesla was almost a man – not that he _looked_ it of course – and so he was now expected to work at the mill with the other older boys. This always left Nikola alone with no-one to really play with; today though, that wasn't going to happen. Nikola was going to go _with_ Dane to the mill. He was old enough at seven years to know what to do with corn.

"_No_ Nikola." Dane said firmly as he watched his younger brother stumble to a halt a few feet away from Dara, the large draft horse snorted and shifted – for reasons unknown, Dara had never liked Nikola; in fact, hardly _any_ of the animals liked Nikola... with the exception of cats of course. "I told you yesterday. You're not old enough and you can't even ride a horse!"

"It's not my fault they won't let me get on them!" Nikola said defensively; even at seven years he was handful to deal with and Dane had often watched their father reprimand his brother severely for speaking out of term, _'too smart for his own good' _his mother would sometimes say as she carried up some supper for Nikola after father's reprimands. Right now, Dane agreed with his mother because Nikola should be doing what Dane had done when he'd been his age; he should be running through the woods and playing hide-and-seek with the other children. Instead Nikola was trying to come with Dane because he was the only one who didn't laugh at him when he made little toys for their younger sisters or for mother.

"I know it isn't Nikola, brother." Dane sighed, he hated doing this; he hated having to tell Nikola no and then leave him behind knowing that if he looked back he'd see his brother standing there looking lost and alone. "But the point is, I can't carry you on Dara all the way to the Mill and back! Now I'm going to be late..." Dane turned around in the saddle again. "I'm _sorry_ Nikola. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Don't bother." Nikola said, his voice full of hurt and pain at being left behind _again_. It pulled at Dane's heart and made him feel even more guilty. Damn his little brother and sad look he just _knew_ he was levelling at his back!

"Alright _fine_!" Dane exclaimed in defeat. He twisted around the saddle again and said sharply. "Come on already! Get over here!" Though his tone was sharp, the look of sheer joy Nikola gave him melted his annoyance with his brother; how could he stay angry at his brother? No-one could stay angry at Nikola, it just wasn't possible.

"Thank you Dane!" Nikola whooped as he practically ran over to stop next to Dara who shifted and snorted, the white's of his eyes showing as he pulled his head up as high as it could go. Nikola reached out a hand which Dane grabbed and he helped his brother climb up onto the back of the large draft horse. "You _won't_ regret this I promise!"

"Yeah... tell me that _after_ we get home and mother murders me." Dane muttered as he dug his heels into Dara's sides and clicked his tongue as he pulled the reins up. "Go on Dara!"

On command the large draft horse began to move, trotting quickly before quickly changing to a canter and Dane smiled as he listened to Nikola laughing with delight as he held onto his brother. It was a rare thing to hear Nikola laughing and Dane was happy now that he'd relented and let his brother come along with him; the hiding he'd get would be worth it really.

They cantered through the fields between their home next to the church and the town for a few minutes and Dane was content to take as long as he possibly could so he could hear his brother laughing more. It was a sunny day though there was the threat of storm clouds just over the mountains to the east; though they wouldn't arrive until nightfall. It was good day and Dane felt like nothing could go wrong. Which is exactly when everything went head-over-heels.

Nikola waved his free arm wildly as he laughed joyous and Dara, sensing something wasn't quite right, reared up so suddenly that Dane didn't have a chance at controlling the large draft. As Dane struggled with the reins he heard Nikola shout out in fear as his brother lost his grip around his waist. Dane shouted out for his brother, but all he heard was Nikola's scream of fear mixing with Dara's whinny of terror before Dara's front feet landed on the ground again and he galloped off with Dane still on him.

Dane tried desperately to stop Dara, tugging so hard on the reins that he thought he could feel the leather starting to stretch and snap. Nothing would stop the large draft and Dane realised that he'd have to jump off him before Dara ran them to their deaths. "Oh God..." Dane whispered as he clung tightly to Dara's neck, having given up on the reins. "Oh God, Oh God... _Please_ help me..."

In the distance Dane thought he could hear Nikola's cries, whether they were of fear, pain or worry he didn't know but he realised he _had_ to get back to his brother. Taking a deep breath to try and calm his nerves Dane looked about him carefully trying to see where it would be safe for him to jump when the time came. Dara was careening in the direction of the woods to the east of the village, the part of the woods which they never ventured into because of all the stories about monsters that drank the blood of babes in the night.

Just as he gave thought to just throwing himself off Dara and seeing if he survived, Dane spotted a newly tilled piece of land; the soil would be looser and so less painful when he landed on it. Perfect.

Praying that this worked Dane sat up in the saddle and slipped his feet out of the stirrups as he tried to position himself as best his could in the saddle. One... two... _three_! He half threw himself off of Dara and the world tilted strangely as his body flipped to the side almost of its own will. He saw the ground coming up to meet him and he smashed into with enough force to knock the wind out of his lungs.

Lying in the dirt for a few minutes, Dane tried to get air back into his lungs. His entire body hurt and, with his head pressed into the dirt, he could _feel_ Dara's hooves hitting the ground as the large draft continued galloping towards the woods. He drew in a deep, shaky breath but began coughing painfully and he curled up instinctively. It hurt. His entire body hurt more and it felt like there was fire in his stomach burning him up inside. It hurt _so_ much...

**-****ŊŦ-**

Nikola had landed hard enough to temporarily cut off his scream of fear and he lay on his back for a few seconds before he drew in a sharp breath and scrambled to his feet. He stood there in shock as he watched Dara gallop off with Dane trying to get the large horse under control.

"Dane!" Nikola shouted as loud as he could manage but he watched as Dara and Dane got further and further away from him. And then he realised Dara was heading straight towards the eastern woods. "DANE!" Nikola screamed desperately as he began to half-run, half-limp after his brother. They weren't allowed in the eastern woods; that was where the monsters lived. He didn't want Dane to be eaten by a monster!

He managed to reach the next field over just in time to see Dane throw himself off Dara's back and land in the dirt of a newly tilled field. Fearing the worst Nikola shouted out at his brother again and began to hobble towards him in earnest. "Dane! _Dane!_"

He couldn't tell if Dane was injured or if he was dead, and Nikola felt tears starting to well in his eyes as he finally reached his brother and fell down in the dirt next to him. "Dane!" Nikola gasped as he reached out a shaking hand and gently rocked his brothers shoulder only to get no response. "Dane! Wake up please! Please Dane..."

A sniffle broke free of him and he could feel tears streaming down his face as Nikola continued to shove his brother's shoulder without any real thought. He needed Dane to wake up now and tell him to stop shoving him... he needed Dane... he needed his brother...

"Dane..." He whispered brokenly and he lay his head down next his brothers, noticing for the first time that there was something dark and sticky matted in his brother's brown locks. "Dane wake up... _please_..."

In the distance Nikola could hear the sound of the towns people shouting and he knew they were coming to help but... they were too late... he could tell...

"Dane... please... please... I _love_ you brother... _please_ wake up..." He sobbed as he clutched his brother's still shoulder and he closed his eyes and curled up as close to his brother as he could. The world around him ceased to exist, all there was to him was pain... and Dane... pain and Dane was all he knew then.

**-****ŊŦ-**

The sound of sobbing could be heard throughout the house as his mother cried over her little boy, her special boy. Dane... oh her boy... her boy was dead...

Nikola could hear his father trying to console his mother and he realised that he should go downstairs and tell them to blame him; tell them it wasn't an accident. Accept the punishment they'd give him... he deserved it...

He deserved to die... not Dane... never Dane...

And he wanted to curl up and waste away in his room for thinking that... Dane wouldn't want him to blame himself... but Dane wasn't here anymore and he _did_ blame himself...

If only he hadn't wanted to spend time with his brother. If only he'd left him alone. If only he'd stopped being such a baby and scared of being alone. Dane would still be alive. It was his fault he wasn't. Nothing could change that now... he was a monster... he'd killed his own brother... he was murderer... a monster.

**END**

_**Nikola's older brother Dane, aged 12, died in 1861 (hence the name of this one-shot) after he fell from a horse. There were some accounts that Nikola was responsible for the accident because he spooked the horse... **_

_**Also, in 1861, he started attendance at primary school where he learnt German, Arithmetic and Religious Knowledge (but I didn't feel like including that in this one-shot).**_

**The next one will probably be done in the next few days, depending on if I can revise enough Chemistry in order to relax, and I might have it up by next Friday... fingers crossed.**

**Do tell me what you think of this please people, I am trying hard to do these and it really does help when you review and give me your opinions... even if it's one word or a giant smiley face! (Though I am a bit predisposed to long reviews but that's because I like to read them :p)**

**I hope you enjoyed this.**

**Kasey**

**P.S. Just because I've been asked where I've got this timeline from...**

**www(dot)teslauniverse(dot)com**

**:D Enjoy and use it wisely oh young padawan... wait... wrong universe. :p**


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